Overview of North Carolina census records, 1787-1890

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL RESOURCES
OFFICE OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY
ARCHIVES INFORMATION CIRCULAR
Number 2 1983 EZM (Revised 2002 GTM) Raleigh, North Carolina
Overview of North Carolina Census Records, 1787-1920
During the colonial period the royal governors were required by the Board of Trade to take censuses for administrative purposes. In 1754 Governor Dobbs ordered a census for North Carolina to "get at the strength of the Province by ascertaining the number of its taxables, the number of its women and children, the strength and discipline of the militia, the quantity and condition of the ammunition on hand and in store, the names of the officers and the number of Indians." In general, however, these enumerations were ignored by the independent-spirited people, and the colonial governors apparently had to rely on tax lists and militia rolls for information. In 1775 the Board of Trade reported that there were 50,000 white inhabitants and 13,000 men capable of bearing arms in North Carolina.
As the colonies began to organize, the census received more attention. In August, 1775, North Carolina's First Provincial Congress, meeting in Hillsborough, resolved that the Committees of Safety should obtain an exact list of inhabitants, distinguishing two age groups for white males (16-50; under 16; over 50), the number of white women, female children, male slaves taxable, female slaves taxable, and slaves not taxable. The only surviving reports from the 1775 state census are returns naming the inhabitants of Pitt County and a summary return (no names) for Rowan County.
In 1783 the Continental Congress resolved that each of the states take a census of its inhabitants, and in November 1784 the North Carolina General Assembly passed an act requiring that the census be taken. Copies of the law were delivered to the counties a year later, and county officials conducted the state census in 1786 and 1787. Since the instructions in the 1784 act were not precise, some counties named the heads of households, and other counties merely counted the inhabitants without naming any of them. The tables on pages 8 and 9 indicate the counties for which there are surviving reports from this census.
The question of settling the national debt became more serious, and the unwillingness of some states to order a general census and assume their equitable proportion made it apparent that a complete census of the country could never be made except by a central directing authority. Hence, when the Constitutional Convention met in 1787, members seem to have agreed that a provision for a periodic federal census should be incorporated into the Constitution.Fig. 1. Example of a 1787 census return. This enumeration was authorized
by the North Carolina legislature in a census act of 1784.
Article I of the U.S. Constitution provided that both representation in Congress and direct taxes be apportioned among the states according to a national population count every ten years. To the number of free persons and indentured servants three-fifths of the slaves would be added. Untaxed Indians were not to be counted. Any temptation to exaggerate figures for representation would be checked by an increase in taxes.
The first federal census, taken in 1790, was supervised by the U.S. marshals in the judicial districts of the states. They appointed assistant marshals to conduct enumerations. To check for accuracy, returns were posted for public inspection before being sent to the marshals who used them to compile aggregate returns (county totals) to send to President Washington. The original returns went to the clerks of the district (superior) courts for safekeeping. This procedure was followed until 1830, when the clerks of court were directed to transmit the original schedules of the first four censuses to the secretary of state in Washington, D.C. Of the 237 county returns for the first four enumerations, only 10 apparently were lost and not sent to Washington.
The 1790 census established a pattern based on the family unit. The name of the head of each family was given, but other members were identified by sex and age groups. This pattern lasted through the 1840 census. Because only three-fifths of the total number of slaves could be counted for representation, these were distinguished from the free Negroes.
At the direction of the House of Representatives a copy of the aggregate report of this first census was printed by Joseph Gales of Philadelphia, who a few years later came to North Carolina as editor and publisher of the Raleigh Register.
By the time of the third census, 1810, the population of the United States had increased from four million to seven million, the lands west of the Mississippi River had been opened up by the Louisiana Purchase, and the westward moving frontier was seriously impeded only by the Indians. Congress, under pressure to gather statistics on the country's resources, directed the enumerators to give an account of the "several manufacturing establishments and manufactures" within their districts. Fragmentary accounts are incorporated on the population schedules of 1810 for 28 North Carolina counties.
This first attempt at a manufactures schedule was not altogether successful. The assistant marshal in coastal Hyde County, reporting that materials for clothing were raised and consumed by the 6,110 inhabitants, wrote “. . . with Very few exceptions every household employs a common Weaving Loom . . . and Almost without exception every family Tanns their own Leather."
Fig. 2. Example of an 1810 census return. Manufacturing queries on the right refer to homespun
(looms, quantity in yards annually made in each family, value in dollars), spirits (stills, quantity
annually in each distillery, value in dollars), and all other manufactures not noted.
At the same time the enumerator in Haywood County, reporting that “piles of mountains" separated the small communities, said the questions about household manufacturing "created jealousies in the minds of a great number of the people, consequently no great reliance can be placed on the Same." He went ahead and estimated "what I suppose to be the customary selling prices among the people."
The 1820 census was set up by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams who added an extra age group (16-18) for white males and warned the marshals not to count this category when totaling white males because they would be included in the 16-26 group. Later he noted that since a new heading "free persons of color" had been added that "all other persons (except Indians not taxed)" should have been dropped. This census also shed statistical light on foreigners not naturalized and the number of persons engaged in agriculture, commerce, or manufacturing. A separate manufactures schedule was reintroduced, but results were disappointing. The limited response was blamed on insufficient funding, citizen reluctance to answer detailed questions about their business, and fear of higher taxes.
By the 1840 census the national population was seventeen million not counting untaxed Indians. Queries on occupations and manufacturing were resumed, and the names and ages of all military pensioners were sought.
Two copies were made of the fifth and sixth census returns (1830 and 1840) to be filed with the clerks of court in the districts and the secretary of state in Washington.
By the seventh census (1850) Texas had been annexed, and the gold rush to California was on. A census office was established for this enumeration with J.D.B. DeBow, editor and statistician, as the superintendent of this "first scientific census."
The family unit pattern was abandoned and every free inhabitant (white, black, mulatto) in each dwelling as of June 1, 1850, was to be named and described. Cherokee Indians who had become citizens are also listed in Haywood County (710) and Macon County (119), as well as a few in Cherokee County.
In 1850 a separate population schedule was used for slaves, who, although unnamed, were described (age and sex) under the slaveholder's name. Special schedules reported deaths during the twelve months prior to June 1, 1850, as well as individual farming and manufacturing operations. Assistant marshals were directed to assure the people that no personal information would be used concerning the operations of any one individual. A final schedule Social Statistics, collected figures on numbers of schools, newspapers, churches, paupers, and criminals.
Three copies of the 1850 census returns were prepared. The assistant marshals filed one copy with the clerks of court and forwarded two copies to the marshals who placed them with the secretary of state in Raleigh and the census office in Washington, D.C., a practice that continued for two more decades.
Fig. 3. Example of an 1850 return which lists all free persons in a household.
The 1860 population schedules and special schedules are similar to those of the previous census. The printed abstract of this census contains an analytical introduction in which the superintendent of the census discusses the implications of the statistics on population, slavery, manumission, immigration, internal migration, the “deaf and dumb,” the “blind,” and the “insane.”*
The slavery category was, of course, dropped for the 1870 census, all persons being listed on one population schedule as white, black, mulatto, Chinese, or Indian. The concluding question on the population schedule sought to determine whether anyone was being denied the right to vote under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. Upon being criticized for this question, the superintendent admitted that the census was not the proper agency for such an inquiry, but said that this was the only organ which could make an attempt to gather such information at the time. In North Carolina this category appears to have been checked only by the name of an occasional alien.
* * Although such terms as “deaf and dumb” are no longer, used we have maintained the wording since it appears in the census records.
Because of the difficulties of Reconstruction in the South, the census returns for this region were considered somewhat inaccurate. Two decades later a correction was made which increased the population figures reported in the 1870 census.
By 1880 trains ran from coast to coast, and the sons of the miners who had swarmed over the West seeking mineral deposits had settled down to become farmers. Altogether fifty million Americans were reported in the census of 1880, and a major change was effected when the Census Office took the canvass out of the hands of the United States marshals and appointed its own supervisors and enumerators within congressional districts.
The usual special individual schedules on mortality, agriculture, and manufacturing were continued. The fourth special schedule, now called "Supplementary Schedule," gave statistics on defectives, dependents, and delinquents. The resources of the country were further explored in special reports on such topics as transportation, cotton production, water power, petroleum, ship-building, newspapers, and Alaska. These explorations filled twenty-two volumes of census statistics, an increase of nineteen over the 1870 census report.
As the census inquiries increased in detail, the belief grew that information should be confidential. Thus in 1880 the enumerators were under oath not to disclose any of the information gathered, and the practice of depositing a copy of the census with the secretaries of state was discontinued. The original returns were sent to Washington, and only a list of names with age, sex, and color was filed with the county court.
Because of a destructive fire in 1921, only fragments of the 1890 population schedule of individuals are extant. Included are the returns for three townships in North Carolina. For the first time the electric key-punch machine was used to compile the reports on taxes, insurance, Indians, churches, Civil War veterans, etc. These national statistics were published in fifteen volumes.
The 1900 population schedule was opened to historical, genealogical, and legal research in the microfilm room of the National Archives in December 1973. This was after a stalemate between the Census Bureau, which wished to honor the promise to citizens that the information would be confidential, and the National Archives, which was interested in the research value of census information on individuals. The U.S. Attorney General as arbiter directed limited access to the population schedules on microfilm at the National Archives with no photocopying permitted to prevent unwarranted invasion of privacy.
Five years later reels of the 1900 census and its "soundex" index were being sold by the National Archives. Soundex is the name of a coded surname index based on the sounds rather than how it is spelled. The 1910 census and its "miracode" index became available for purchase from the National Archives in 1982. The miracode index also uses the soundex codes. The 1920 and 1930 censuses are also indexed using the soundex code system. The North Carolina State Archives owns microfilm copies of the North Carolina portion of all of these censuses and their indexes.
Individual records from the Federal population censuses are confidential for 72 years, by law (Title 44, U.S. Code). The Census Bureau can release details from recent files in the form of official transcripts, but only to the named persons, their heirs, or legal representatives. There is a congressionally mandated fee for this service. Since by law this census information is confidential and collected only for statistical purposes, it is exempt from the disclosure provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act. This means that no one can gain access to confidential census records or avoid the search fees through these acts. Transcript application forms (BC-600) may be obtained from the following:
Personal Census Search Unit
U.S. Census Bureau Phone: 812-218-3046
P.O. Box 1545
Jeffersonville, IN 47131 Fax: 812-288-3371
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION AVAILABLE IN NORTH CAROLINA CENSUSES, 1787-1930
NORTH CAROLINA STATE CENSUS, 1787
Information included: Original returns for 24 counties show the names of heads of households and number of white males (21-60; under 21 or over 60), number of white females (all ages), and number of Negroes (12-50; under 12 or over 50) in each household. Statistical summaries, not including names, exist for a number of additional counties (see tables on pages 8-9). In addition, summary returns for eighteen counties are listed in The State Records of North Carolina, XVIII, 433.
FIRST FEDERAL CENSUS, 1790
Information included: Names of heads of households; number of free white males (under 16, over 16) and free white females (all ages), including servants bound to service for a term of years; all other free persons (except Indians not taxed); and slaves. Microfilm copies of the original census returns are in the Search Room of the State Archives; returns for Caswell, Granville, and Orange counties are missing.
Also available are two printed volumes of this census: The State Records of North Carolina, XXVI, contains the 1790 census arranged by county and indexed by name of the head of household. Names and other data from the tax lists of the missing counties have been supplied in an appendix. Heads of Families at the First Census of the U. S. Taken in the Year 1790 . . . North Carolina (Washington: Bureau of the Census, 1908) is also indexed but is arranged by the eight judicial districts (Edenton, Fayetteville, Halifax, Hillsborough, Morgan, New Bern, Salisbury, and Wilmington) with appropriate counties under each district. Names from the tax lists of the three missing counties are supplied under the proper district.
SECOND FEDERAL CENSUS, 1800
Information included: Names of heads of households; number of free white males and white females (to 10, to 16, to 26, to 45, 45 and over); all other free persons (except Indians not taxed); and slaves. Microfilm copies of the original returns are available in the Search Room of the State Archives.
THIRD FEDERAL CENSUS, 1810
Information included: Same information as the second census except that 28 North Carolina counties report manufacturing information such as number of looms, stills, or tanneries with type, quantity, and value of production. Information is placed either after an individual's name or summarized at the end of the return. See tables on pages 8-9 for counties giving manufacturing figures. Microfilm copies of the original returns are in the Search Room. Craven, Greene, New Hanover, and Wake counties are missing.
FOURTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1820
Information included: Same age categories for free white population as last census except for extra age group for white males (16-18). Age grouping introduced for "free persons of color" and for slaves (under 14, 14-16, 26-45, over 45). New categories: "foreigners not naturalized" and the number of persons (including slaves) engaged in commerce, agriculture, or manufacturing. A separate manufactures schedule for name of owner, raw materials, product, market value, number of employees and wages paid, etc. Microfilm of manufactures schedule,
indexed both by name of owner and product, is available in the Search Room, as well as microfilm of the population schedule. Currituck, Franklin, Martin, Montgomery, Randolph, and Wake counties are missing from the latter. The 1820 census has been transcribed, indexed, and published separately for each county by Dorothy W. Potter of Tullahoma, Tennessee, and is available in the Search Room.
FIFTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1830
Information included: Names of heads of households; number of white males and females (under 5, to 10, to 15, to 20, to 30, to 40, to 50, to 60, to 70, to 80, to 90, to 100, 100 and over); number of free Negroes and slaves by age groups and sex; and number of aliens. New category: Physical disabilities of white and colored (deaf-mute or blind). Dropped: Occupations and manufacturing schedule. Microfilm copies of the population returns are available in the Search Room.
SIXTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1840
Information included: Same information as fifth census except that the category "Aliens" was dropped. Changes: Restoration of the occupation category which was augmented to include mining, navigation, learned professions, and engineering, and enlargement of the disabilities category to include the “insane” and “idiots.” New categories: Education (number of colleges, academies, common schools, number of students in each, and white illiterates over 20), and military pensioners (name and age). A manufacturing schedule was reintroduced with categories for agriculture, commerce, fisheries, products of the forest, mining, manufactures (bricks, cotton, tobacco, hats, drugs, furniture, musical instruments, etc.). Microfilm copies of the population returns, printed copies of Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services, 1840, and a printed compendium of the sixth census summarizing manufacturing statistics by state and county are available in the Search Room.
SEVENTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1850
Information included: Population Schedule I: Name of every free inhabitant in each dwelling, followed by age, sex, color (white, black, mulatto), place of birth (state or country); marriage or school attendance during year; illiteracy (over 20); occupation (males over 15); and value of real estate owned. Also noted were deaf-mutes, blind, paupers, or convicts. Population Schedule II (Slave): Name of slave owner followed by a list of his slaves, not by name but by age, sex, and color (black or mulatto). Additional categories indicate those fugitive or freed during the past year and those with disabilities.
Special schedules introduced in the 1850 Census: Mortality: Names of persons who died during past year (not decade), month and cause of death, and number of days ill; age, sex, color, place of birth, occupation, slave or free, married or widowed (if free). Remarks on the topography and healthfulness of the region were made by the assistant marshals at the end of the schedule. Agriculture: Name of owner, agent, or manager of the farm with produce amounting to $100 in value, number of acres, cash value of farm, number of livestock, amount and value of produce. Industry (manufacturing): Name of company or individual producing articles to the annual value of $500; name of business, manufacture, or product; amount of capital; type of raw materials; number of employees, wages paid, etc. Social Statistics: Total figures for a county or subdivision, ascertained from public records as well as inquiry, include those of schools, libraries, newspapers, churches, property value, average wages, taxes paid, paupers, and criminals. Available in the Search Room of the State Archives are microfilm copies of all the population and special schedules, and bound volumes of many population and special schedules (see tables on pages 8-9).
EIGHTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1860
Information included: Same as the seventh census except that property value was divided into real estate and personal estate, and the occupation of females was requested. The slave population schedule added "number of slave houses." The special schedules remained essentially the same. In the North Carolina State Archives are microfilm copies of the population schedules and the special schedules, bound volumes of the free white population schedules, and many special schedules (Bertie, Cabarrus, Chowan, Perquimans, Person, and Stanly counties do not have slave schedules or special schedules). (Some special schedules in the bound volumes of 1850-1870 are occasionally missing, in whole or in part. The microfilm copies appear to be more nearly complete.)
NINTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1870
Information included: All inhabitants listed by name on one population schedule followed by age, sex, color (white, black, mulatto, Chinese, Indian); place of birth, marriage, or school attendance during year; illiteracy; occupation; parents of foreign birth; temporary or permanent impairment; voting status. Dropped: Paupers and convicts. Special Schedules: Same except mortality schedule now has a cross reference to the deceased person's family on the population schedule. Available are microfilm copies of population and special schedules. Bound volumes contain population, mortality, agriculture, and manufacturing schedules; the two latter are missing for several counties. Additional volumes contain summary agricultural statistics for the townships under each county and social statistics for each county.
TENTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1880
Information included: Same as last census with addition of Indians and Chinese under "color," name of street and house number, relationship to head of household (wife, child, servant, boarder, etc.), and birthplace of father and mother. Other new categories: Marital status and number of months unemployed in past year. Dropped: Voting category and property values. The "Social Schedule" was replaced by a "Supplementary Schedule" to collect information on “deaf-mutes,” the “blind,” “insane (including epileptics),” “idiots,” homeless children, prisoners, paupers in institutions, poorhouses, asylums, or boarded at public expense in private homes. Although very little information appears to have been gathered, this schedule is available for Johnston-Yancey counties. Original population schedules have been returned to the state and are available in the Search Room, in addition to the population schedule and special schedules on microfilm. A soundex index for families with children 10 years or younger is available on microfilm in the Search Room.
Counties were permitted to retain only a list of the names (with age, sex, race) from the 1880 population schedule. Two are in the archives: Wake County (17 townships and Raleigh) and Ashe County (9 townships and Jefferson). ELEVENTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1890
Information included: Although the population schedules were almost completely destroyed by fire, fragments remain for Township #2 in Cleveland County, and South Point and River Bend townships in Gaston County. A special schedule enumerating Union War veterans in North Carolina also has survived. Microfilm copies are in the Archives. An extra census bulletin, Eastern Band of Cherokees of North Carolina, 24 pages, was compiled by Thomas Donaldson, an agent of the Census Office. A copy is in the State Library.
TWELFTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1900
Information included: Address; name; relationship to head of family; sex; race; age; marital status; number of years married; for women, number of children born and now living; birth place of person and parents; if foreign born, year of immigration and whether naturalized; occupation; months not employed; school attendance; literacy; ability to speak English; whether on a farm; home owned or rented; if owned, whether mortgaged. Microfilm population schedule and soundex index available in Search Room.
THIRTEENTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1910
Information included: Address; name; relationship to head of household; sex; race; age; marital status; number of years married; for women, number of children born and now living; birth place of person and parents; if foreign born, year of immigration and whether naturalized; ability to speak English; occupation; weeks not employed; literacy; school attendance; rental or ownership of home and whether mortgaged; whether a Civil War veteran; whether blind or deaf-mute. Microfilm population schedule and miracode index available in Search Room.
FOURTEENTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1920
Information included: Address; name; relationship to head of household; rental or ownership of home and whether mortgaged; sex; race; age; marital status; if foreign born, year of immigration and year naturalized; school attendance; literacy; birth place of person and parents; mother tongue; ability to speak English; occupation; whether employer, wage worker, or self-employed; number of farm schedule. Microfilm population schedule and soundex index available in the Search Room.
FIFTEENTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1930
In 1930, the population schedule was followed by the first unemployment census. Enumerators collected a separate set of data for those reported to have a gainful occupation, but were out of work prior to the day of visit. This trial method, carried out by the Civil Works Administration, was accompanied by other experimential techniques such as crop sampling, and surveys of retail stores.
The 1930 Census broadened its scope of race and ethnicity by adding several groups to the list, including: Mexican, Filipino, Hindu, and Korean. Black was referred to as Negro, and Hindu, actually a religious group, served as an ethnicity. This was also the first census to monitor technology by adding a column for "radio set" to the "Home Data" section, formerly titled 'Ownership of Home."
"Place of Birth" is more specific, and complicated. The emunerator was instructed to distinguish Canada-English from Canada-French; and Irish "Free State" from Northern Ireland. For Veterans, the list of wars includes: World War, Spanish-American War, Civil War, Philippine Insurrection, Boxer Rebellion, and Mexican Expedition.
The 1930 census and its soundex index was released in April 2002, and is now available for viewing in the Search Room.
The maps and charts on the following pages show county development over the years and what census records are in existence for those counties.

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STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL RESOURCES
OFFICE OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY
ARCHIVES INFORMATION CIRCULAR
Number 2 1983 EZM (Revised 2002 GTM) Raleigh, North Carolina
Overview of North Carolina Census Records, 1787-1920
During the colonial period the royal governors were required by the Board of Trade to take censuses for administrative purposes. In 1754 Governor Dobbs ordered a census for North Carolina to "get at the strength of the Province by ascertaining the number of its taxables, the number of its women and children, the strength and discipline of the militia, the quantity and condition of the ammunition on hand and in store, the names of the officers and the number of Indians." In general, however, these enumerations were ignored by the independent-spirited people, and the colonial governors apparently had to rely on tax lists and militia rolls for information. In 1775 the Board of Trade reported that there were 50,000 white inhabitants and 13,000 men capable of bearing arms in North Carolina.
As the colonies began to organize, the census received more attention. In August, 1775, North Carolina's First Provincial Congress, meeting in Hillsborough, resolved that the Committees of Safety should obtain an exact list of inhabitants, distinguishing two age groups for white males (16-50; under 16; over 50), the number of white women, female children, male slaves taxable, female slaves taxable, and slaves not taxable. The only surviving reports from the 1775 state census are returns naming the inhabitants of Pitt County and a summary return (no names) for Rowan County.
In 1783 the Continental Congress resolved that each of the states take a census of its inhabitants, and in November 1784 the North Carolina General Assembly passed an act requiring that the census be taken. Copies of the law were delivered to the counties a year later, and county officials conducted the state census in 1786 and 1787. Since the instructions in the 1784 act were not precise, some counties named the heads of households, and other counties merely counted the inhabitants without naming any of them. The tables on pages 8 and 9 indicate the counties for which there are surviving reports from this census.
The question of settling the national debt became more serious, and the unwillingness of some states to order a general census and assume their equitable proportion made it apparent that a complete census of the country could never be made except by a central directing authority. Hence, when the Constitutional Convention met in 1787, members seem to have agreed that a provision for a periodic federal census should be incorporated into the Constitution.Fig. 1. Example of a 1787 census return. This enumeration was authorized
by the North Carolina legislature in a census act of 1784.
Article I of the U.S. Constitution provided that both representation in Congress and direct taxes be apportioned among the states according to a national population count every ten years. To the number of free persons and indentured servants three-fifths of the slaves would be added. Untaxed Indians were not to be counted. Any temptation to exaggerate figures for representation would be checked by an increase in taxes.
The first federal census, taken in 1790, was supervised by the U.S. marshals in the judicial districts of the states. They appointed assistant marshals to conduct enumerations. To check for accuracy, returns were posted for public inspection before being sent to the marshals who used them to compile aggregate returns (county totals) to send to President Washington. The original returns went to the clerks of the district (superior) courts for safekeeping. This procedure was followed until 1830, when the clerks of court were directed to transmit the original schedules of the first four censuses to the secretary of state in Washington, D.C. Of the 237 county returns for the first four enumerations, only 10 apparently were lost and not sent to Washington.
The 1790 census established a pattern based on the family unit. The name of the head of each family was given, but other members were identified by sex and age groups. This pattern lasted through the 1840 census. Because only three-fifths of the total number of slaves could be counted for representation, these were distinguished from the free Negroes.
At the direction of the House of Representatives a copy of the aggregate report of this first census was printed by Joseph Gales of Philadelphia, who a few years later came to North Carolina as editor and publisher of the Raleigh Register.
By the time of the third census, 1810, the population of the United States had increased from four million to seven million, the lands west of the Mississippi River had been opened up by the Louisiana Purchase, and the westward moving frontier was seriously impeded only by the Indians. Congress, under pressure to gather statistics on the country's resources, directed the enumerators to give an account of the "several manufacturing establishments and manufactures" within their districts. Fragmentary accounts are incorporated on the population schedules of 1810 for 28 North Carolina counties.
This first attempt at a manufactures schedule was not altogether successful. The assistant marshal in coastal Hyde County, reporting that materials for clothing were raised and consumed by the 6,110 inhabitants, wrote “. . . with Very few exceptions every household employs a common Weaving Loom . . . and Almost without exception every family Tanns their own Leather."
Fig. 2. Example of an 1810 census return. Manufacturing queries on the right refer to homespun
(looms, quantity in yards annually made in each family, value in dollars), spirits (stills, quantity
annually in each distillery, value in dollars), and all other manufactures not noted.
At the same time the enumerator in Haywood County, reporting that “piles of mountains" separated the small communities, said the questions about household manufacturing "created jealousies in the minds of a great number of the people, consequently no great reliance can be placed on the Same." He went ahead and estimated "what I suppose to be the customary selling prices among the people."
The 1820 census was set up by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams who added an extra age group (16-18) for white males and warned the marshals not to count this category when totaling white males because they would be included in the 16-26 group. Later he noted that since a new heading "free persons of color" had been added that "all other persons (except Indians not taxed)" should have been dropped. This census also shed statistical light on foreigners not naturalized and the number of persons engaged in agriculture, commerce, or manufacturing. A separate manufactures schedule was reintroduced, but results were disappointing. The limited response was blamed on insufficient funding, citizen reluctance to answer detailed questions about their business, and fear of higher taxes.
By the 1840 census the national population was seventeen million not counting untaxed Indians. Queries on occupations and manufacturing were resumed, and the names and ages of all military pensioners were sought.
Two copies were made of the fifth and sixth census returns (1830 and 1840) to be filed with the clerks of court in the districts and the secretary of state in Washington.
By the seventh census (1850) Texas had been annexed, and the gold rush to California was on. A census office was established for this enumeration with J.D.B. DeBow, editor and statistician, as the superintendent of this "first scientific census."
The family unit pattern was abandoned and every free inhabitant (white, black, mulatto) in each dwelling as of June 1, 1850, was to be named and described. Cherokee Indians who had become citizens are also listed in Haywood County (710) and Macon County (119), as well as a few in Cherokee County.
In 1850 a separate population schedule was used for slaves, who, although unnamed, were described (age and sex) under the slaveholder's name. Special schedules reported deaths during the twelve months prior to June 1, 1850, as well as individual farming and manufacturing operations. Assistant marshals were directed to assure the people that no personal information would be used concerning the operations of any one individual. A final schedule Social Statistics, collected figures on numbers of schools, newspapers, churches, paupers, and criminals.
Three copies of the 1850 census returns were prepared. The assistant marshals filed one copy with the clerks of court and forwarded two copies to the marshals who placed them with the secretary of state in Raleigh and the census office in Washington, D.C., a practice that continued for two more decades.
Fig. 3. Example of an 1850 return which lists all free persons in a household.
The 1860 population schedules and special schedules are similar to those of the previous census. The printed abstract of this census contains an analytical introduction in which the superintendent of the census discusses the implications of the statistics on population, slavery, manumission, immigration, internal migration, the “deaf and dumb,” the “blind,” and the “insane.”*
The slavery category was, of course, dropped for the 1870 census, all persons being listed on one population schedule as white, black, mulatto, Chinese, or Indian. The concluding question on the population schedule sought to determine whether anyone was being denied the right to vote under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. Upon being criticized for this question, the superintendent admitted that the census was not the proper agency for such an inquiry, but said that this was the only organ which could make an attempt to gather such information at the time. In North Carolina this category appears to have been checked only by the name of an occasional alien.
* * Although such terms as “deaf and dumb” are no longer, used we have maintained the wording since it appears in the census records.
Because of the difficulties of Reconstruction in the South, the census returns for this region were considered somewhat inaccurate. Two decades later a correction was made which increased the population figures reported in the 1870 census.
By 1880 trains ran from coast to coast, and the sons of the miners who had swarmed over the West seeking mineral deposits had settled down to become farmers. Altogether fifty million Americans were reported in the census of 1880, and a major change was effected when the Census Office took the canvass out of the hands of the United States marshals and appointed its own supervisors and enumerators within congressional districts.
The usual special individual schedules on mortality, agriculture, and manufacturing were continued. The fourth special schedule, now called "Supplementary Schedule," gave statistics on defectives, dependents, and delinquents. The resources of the country were further explored in special reports on such topics as transportation, cotton production, water power, petroleum, ship-building, newspapers, and Alaska. These explorations filled twenty-two volumes of census statistics, an increase of nineteen over the 1870 census report.
As the census inquiries increased in detail, the belief grew that information should be confidential. Thus in 1880 the enumerators were under oath not to disclose any of the information gathered, and the practice of depositing a copy of the census with the secretaries of state was discontinued. The original returns were sent to Washington, and only a list of names with age, sex, and color was filed with the county court.
Because of a destructive fire in 1921, only fragments of the 1890 population schedule of individuals are extant. Included are the returns for three townships in North Carolina. For the first time the electric key-punch machine was used to compile the reports on taxes, insurance, Indians, churches, Civil War veterans, etc. These national statistics were published in fifteen volumes.
The 1900 population schedule was opened to historical, genealogical, and legal research in the microfilm room of the National Archives in December 1973. This was after a stalemate between the Census Bureau, which wished to honor the promise to citizens that the information would be confidential, and the National Archives, which was interested in the research value of census information on individuals. The U.S. Attorney General as arbiter directed limited access to the population schedules on microfilm at the National Archives with no photocopying permitted to prevent unwarranted invasion of privacy.
Five years later reels of the 1900 census and its "soundex" index were being sold by the National Archives. Soundex is the name of a coded surname index based on the sounds rather than how it is spelled. The 1910 census and its "miracode" index became available for purchase from the National Archives in 1982. The miracode index also uses the soundex codes. The 1920 and 1930 censuses are also indexed using the soundex code system. The North Carolina State Archives owns microfilm copies of the North Carolina portion of all of these censuses and their indexes.
Individual records from the Federal population censuses are confidential for 72 years, by law (Title 44, U.S. Code). The Census Bureau can release details from recent files in the form of official transcripts, but only to the named persons, their heirs, or legal representatives. There is a congressionally mandated fee for this service. Since by law this census information is confidential and collected only for statistical purposes, it is exempt from the disclosure provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act. This means that no one can gain access to confidential census records or avoid the search fees through these acts. Transcript application forms (BC-600) may be obtained from the following:
Personal Census Search Unit
U.S. Census Bureau Phone: 812-218-3046
P.O. Box 1545
Jeffersonville, IN 47131 Fax: 812-288-3371
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION AVAILABLE IN NORTH CAROLINA CENSUSES, 1787-1930
NORTH CAROLINA STATE CENSUS, 1787
Information included: Original returns for 24 counties show the names of heads of households and number of white males (21-60; under 21 or over 60), number of white females (all ages), and number of Negroes (12-50; under 12 or over 50) in each household. Statistical summaries, not including names, exist for a number of additional counties (see tables on pages 8-9). In addition, summary returns for eighteen counties are listed in The State Records of North Carolina, XVIII, 433.
FIRST FEDERAL CENSUS, 1790
Information included: Names of heads of households; number of free white males (under 16, over 16) and free white females (all ages), including servants bound to service for a term of years; all other free persons (except Indians not taxed); and slaves. Microfilm copies of the original census returns are in the Search Room of the State Archives; returns for Caswell, Granville, and Orange counties are missing.
Also available are two printed volumes of this census: The State Records of North Carolina, XXVI, contains the 1790 census arranged by county and indexed by name of the head of household. Names and other data from the tax lists of the missing counties have been supplied in an appendix. Heads of Families at the First Census of the U. S. Taken in the Year 1790 . . . North Carolina (Washington: Bureau of the Census, 1908) is also indexed but is arranged by the eight judicial districts (Edenton, Fayetteville, Halifax, Hillsborough, Morgan, New Bern, Salisbury, and Wilmington) with appropriate counties under each district. Names from the tax lists of the three missing counties are supplied under the proper district.
SECOND FEDERAL CENSUS, 1800
Information included: Names of heads of households; number of free white males and white females (to 10, to 16, to 26, to 45, 45 and over); all other free persons (except Indians not taxed); and slaves. Microfilm copies of the original returns are available in the Search Room of the State Archives.
THIRD FEDERAL CENSUS, 1810
Information included: Same information as the second census except that 28 North Carolina counties report manufacturing information such as number of looms, stills, or tanneries with type, quantity, and value of production. Information is placed either after an individual's name or summarized at the end of the return. See tables on pages 8-9 for counties giving manufacturing figures. Microfilm copies of the original returns are in the Search Room. Craven, Greene, New Hanover, and Wake counties are missing.
FOURTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1820
Information included: Same age categories for free white population as last census except for extra age group for white males (16-18). Age grouping introduced for "free persons of color" and for slaves (under 14, 14-16, 26-45, over 45). New categories: "foreigners not naturalized" and the number of persons (including slaves) engaged in commerce, agriculture, or manufacturing. A separate manufactures schedule for name of owner, raw materials, product, market value, number of employees and wages paid, etc. Microfilm of manufactures schedule,
indexed both by name of owner and product, is available in the Search Room, as well as microfilm of the population schedule. Currituck, Franklin, Martin, Montgomery, Randolph, and Wake counties are missing from the latter. The 1820 census has been transcribed, indexed, and published separately for each county by Dorothy W. Potter of Tullahoma, Tennessee, and is available in the Search Room.
FIFTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1830
Information included: Names of heads of households; number of white males and females (under 5, to 10, to 15, to 20, to 30, to 40, to 50, to 60, to 70, to 80, to 90, to 100, 100 and over); number of free Negroes and slaves by age groups and sex; and number of aliens. New category: Physical disabilities of white and colored (deaf-mute or blind). Dropped: Occupations and manufacturing schedule. Microfilm copies of the population returns are available in the Search Room.
SIXTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1840
Information included: Same information as fifth census except that the category "Aliens" was dropped. Changes: Restoration of the occupation category which was augmented to include mining, navigation, learned professions, and engineering, and enlargement of the disabilities category to include the “insane” and “idiots.” New categories: Education (number of colleges, academies, common schools, number of students in each, and white illiterates over 20), and military pensioners (name and age). A manufacturing schedule was reintroduced with categories for agriculture, commerce, fisheries, products of the forest, mining, manufactures (bricks, cotton, tobacco, hats, drugs, furniture, musical instruments, etc.). Microfilm copies of the population returns, printed copies of Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services, 1840, and a printed compendium of the sixth census summarizing manufacturing statistics by state and county are available in the Search Room.
SEVENTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1850
Information included: Population Schedule I: Name of every free inhabitant in each dwelling, followed by age, sex, color (white, black, mulatto), place of birth (state or country); marriage or school attendance during year; illiteracy (over 20); occupation (males over 15); and value of real estate owned. Also noted were deaf-mutes, blind, paupers, or convicts. Population Schedule II (Slave): Name of slave owner followed by a list of his slaves, not by name but by age, sex, and color (black or mulatto). Additional categories indicate those fugitive or freed during the past year and those with disabilities.
Special schedules introduced in the 1850 Census: Mortality: Names of persons who died during past year (not decade), month and cause of death, and number of days ill; age, sex, color, place of birth, occupation, slave or free, married or widowed (if free). Remarks on the topography and healthfulness of the region were made by the assistant marshals at the end of the schedule. Agriculture: Name of owner, agent, or manager of the farm with produce amounting to $100 in value, number of acres, cash value of farm, number of livestock, amount and value of produce. Industry (manufacturing): Name of company or individual producing articles to the annual value of $500; name of business, manufacture, or product; amount of capital; type of raw materials; number of employees, wages paid, etc. Social Statistics: Total figures for a county or subdivision, ascertained from public records as well as inquiry, include those of schools, libraries, newspapers, churches, property value, average wages, taxes paid, paupers, and criminals. Available in the Search Room of the State Archives are microfilm copies of all the population and special schedules, and bound volumes of many population and special schedules (see tables on pages 8-9).
EIGHTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1860
Information included: Same as the seventh census except that property value was divided into real estate and personal estate, and the occupation of females was requested. The slave population schedule added "number of slave houses." The special schedules remained essentially the same. In the North Carolina State Archives are microfilm copies of the population schedules and the special schedules, bound volumes of the free white population schedules, and many special schedules (Bertie, Cabarrus, Chowan, Perquimans, Person, and Stanly counties do not have slave schedules or special schedules). (Some special schedules in the bound volumes of 1850-1870 are occasionally missing, in whole or in part. The microfilm copies appear to be more nearly complete.)
NINTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1870
Information included: All inhabitants listed by name on one population schedule followed by age, sex, color (white, black, mulatto, Chinese, Indian); place of birth, marriage, or school attendance during year; illiteracy; occupation; parents of foreign birth; temporary or permanent impairment; voting status. Dropped: Paupers and convicts. Special Schedules: Same except mortality schedule now has a cross reference to the deceased person's family on the population schedule. Available are microfilm copies of population and special schedules. Bound volumes contain population, mortality, agriculture, and manufacturing schedules; the two latter are missing for several counties. Additional volumes contain summary agricultural statistics for the townships under each county and social statistics for each county.
TENTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1880
Information included: Same as last census with addition of Indians and Chinese under "color," name of street and house number, relationship to head of household (wife, child, servant, boarder, etc.), and birthplace of father and mother. Other new categories: Marital status and number of months unemployed in past year. Dropped: Voting category and property values. The "Social Schedule" was replaced by a "Supplementary Schedule" to collect information on “deaf-mutes,” the “blind,” “insane (including epileptics),” “idiots,” homeless children, prisoners, paupers in institutions, poorhouses, asylums, or boarded at public expense in private homes. Although very little information appears to have been gathered, this schedule is available for Johnston-Yancey counties. Original population schedules have been returned to the state and are available in the Search Room, in addition to the population schedule and special schedules on microfilm. A soundex index for families with children 10 years or younger is available on microfilm in the Search Room.
Counties were permitted to retain only a list of the names (with age, sex, race) from the 1880 population schedule. Two are in the archives: Wake County (17 townships and Raleigh) and Ashe County (9 townships and Jefferson). ELEVENTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1890
Information included: Although the population schedules were almost completely destroyed by fire, fragments remain for Township #2 in Cleveland County, and South Point and River Bend townships in Gaston County. A special schedule enumerating Union War veterans in North Carolina also has survived. Microfilm copies are in the Archives. An extra census bulletin, Eastern Band of Cherokees of North Carolina, 24 pages, was compiled by Thomas Donaldson, an agent of the Census Office. A copy is in the State Library.
TWELFTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1900
Information included: Address; name; relationship to head of family; sex; race; age; marital status; number of years married; for women, number of children born and now living; birth place of person and parents; if foreign born, year of immigration and whether naturalized; occupation; months not employed; school attendance; literacy; ability to speak English; whether on a farm; home owned or rented; if owned, whether mortgaged. Microfilm population schedule and soundex index available in Search Room.
THIRTEENTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1910
Information included: Address; name; relationship to head of household; sex; race; age; marital status; number of years married; for women, number of children born and now living; birth place of person and parents; if foreign born, year of immigration and whether naturalized; ability to speak English; occupation; weeks not employed; literacy; school attendance; rental or ownership of home and whether mortgaged; whether a Civil War veteran; whether blind or deaf-mute. Microfilm population schedule and miracode index available in Search Room.
FOURTEENTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1920
Information included: Address; name; relationship to head of household; rental or ownership of home and whether mortgaged; sex; race; age; marital status; if foreign born, year of immigration and year naturalized; school attendance; literacy; birth place of person and parents; mother tongue; ability to speak English; occupation; whether employer, wage worker, or self-employed; number of farm schedule. Microfilm population schedule and soundex index available in the Search Room.
FIFTEENTH FEDERAL CENSUS, 1930
In 1930, the population schedule was followed by the first unemployment census. Enumerators collected a separate set of data for those reported to have a gainful occupation, but were out of work prior to the day of visit. This trial method, carried out by the Civil Works Administration, was accompanied by other experimential techniques such as crop sampling, and surveys of retail stores.
The 1930 Census broadened its scope of race and ethnicity by adding several groups to the list, including: Mexican, Filipino, Hindu, and Korean. Black was referred to as Negro, and Hindu, actually a religious group, served as an ethnicity. This was also the first census to monitor technology by adding a column for "radio set" to the "Home Data" section, formerly titled 'Ownership of Home."
"Place of Birth" is more specific, and complicated. The emunerator was instructed to distinguish Canada-English from Canada-French; and Irish "Free State" from Northern Ireland. For Veterans, the list of wars includes: World War, Spanish-American War, Civil War, Philippine Insurrection, Boxer Rebellion, and Mexican Expedition.
The 1930 census and its soundex index was released in April 2002, and is now available for viewing in the Search Room.
The maps and charts on the following pages show county development over the years and what census records are in existence for those counties.